Zidoo 4K Hi-End Media player NEO α
Built as a true digital hub, the NEO α pairs clean, balanced sound with unusually strong bass drive, while Soundnews says it stays smooth, resolving, and free of fatigue. Its Roon-ready streaming, DAC, preamp, headphone amp, and media playback roles make it a richly featured centerpiece for audio and video systems alike.
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Deliciously Crispy
Sound Quality
92/100
Build Quality
89/100
Features Connectivity
95/100
Value for Money
85/100
Pros
Clean, balanced presentation with strong bass punch, good linearity, and no obvious listening fatigue
Highly versatile all-in-one design: streamer, DAC, preamp, headphone amp, and media player in one chassis
Very low noise floor, even with ultra-sensitive IEMs, and strong wireless stability as a streamer
Excellent video handling with improved upscaling and broad HDR/Dolby Vision support
Cons
Headphone output is convenient but lacks the grip and power of a dedicated high-end headphone amplifier, especially with demanding planars
The volume wheel feels plasticky and offers less physical resistance than expected
It is an expensive component at around $3000 / €3000
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What Reviewers Are Saying
SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 92/100
Reviewers describe a balanced, musical presentation with strong bass control and no obvious softening or thinness. The soundstage and layering are praised for bringing air into the room, and the overall presentation is described as more resolving and less fatiguing than before.
Tonal Balance and Musicality
92/100
Soundnews says it offered a good linearity and a nice balance between bass, midrange, and treble, without sounding soft or thin. The presentation is described as engaging and easy to enjoy, with no hint of listening fatigue.
Resolution and Detail
94/100
The review explicitly says the NEO Alpha added more resolution and transparency, with more meat on the bone. It is also credited with removing traces of listening fatigue, which supports a sense of clarity and refinement rather than mere analytical sharpness.
Digital Performance
91/100
The review highlights outstanding attack and decay, incredible punch in the lowest octaves, and a presentation that avoids softening or thinness. It also notes that background noises were nowhere to be spotted even with ultra-sensitive IEMs, suggesting a very quiet and well-behaved digital output stage.
Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.
Build Quality
89/100
The chassis is described as bent all-aluminum and heavy, and the reviewer says it feels like a high-quality product. That sense of solidity is supported by the industrial design and physical heft, though the review does not go deeply into internal construction or long-term durability.
Features Connectivity
95/100
This is extremely well equipped: streamer, Roon endpoint, offline player with internal SSD and HDD expansion, DAC, preamp, headphone amp, and Bluetooth receiver. It also includes balanced XLR and RCA outputs, USB/coax/optical inputs, HDMI-based audio functions, remote control, app control, touch screen control, and network control, which makes it unusually flexible for a DAC-centric device.
Value for Money
85/100
The only value comment is that it is a costly unit at around $3000 / €3000, and the review does not argue that it is a bargain. At the same time, the reviewer clearly treats it as a serious all-in-one component that competes with separate DACs, streamers, and headphone gear rather than a barebones converter.
Reviews & Sources
Professional reviews and sources for this product's Watt'n Potatoes analysis.
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Specifications
- Model
- NEO α(Alpha)
- Display
- 5-inch OLED HD touch screen
- Chassis
- Aviation aluminum alloy
- CPU
- Realtek RTD1619DR ARM Cortex-A55(hexa-core)
- GPU
- ARM Mali-G51 MP3
- DAC
- ESS 9038Pro
- Audio Processor
- XMOS XU216
- Internal SSD
- 512G SSD (M.2 SATA 3.0 2280 interface protocol, up to 1TB)
- SATA
- Internal SATA3.0 HDD bay*1 (support 2.5/3.5 inch HDD「hard drives are not included)
- Wi-Fi
- 2.4G+5G dual band WiFi, 802.11 a/b/g/n/AC 2T2R MIMO 867Mbps
- Ethernet
- RJ-45(10/100/1000Mbps)
- HDMI Main Output
- HDMI 2.0a support 4K@60fps/12Bit/HDR/BT2020/YCbCr 4:4:4 video ouput Support audio passthrough
- HDMI DSD Audio Output
- HDMI 1.4 Music: support DSD 64 2CH/5.1CH(DSD Native) Movie: support audio passthrough
- Video Decoding
- 4K@60p HEVC/H.265 12Bit HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision
- Audio Decoding
- Support true-hd HD audio passthrough, stereo PCM decoding
- DAC Audio Decoding
- Support up to stereo DSD512, PCM 768KHz 32Bit, MQA
- Bluetooth Audio Input
- Qualcomm QCC5125 bluetooth module(BT5.0) Support audio protocols such as SBC/AAC/aptX/aptX LL/aptX HD/LDAC
- USB Audio Input
- USB Audio compatible system: Windows(〉7「10)「Mac「Android「iOS Support up to stereo DSD512, PCM 768KHz 32Bit, MQA
- Digital Audio Input
- USB DAC input, Coaxial input, Optical input, Bluetooth audio input
- Digital Audio Output
- Optical output, HDMI output, USB Audio output, Bluetooth audio output
- Analog Audio Output
- Preamplifier output: XLR(balanced), RCA Headphone amplifier output: 6.35mm single end
- USB
- USB3.0*2「USB2.0*2
- Control Methods
- Remote control, Mobile APP control, Touch screen control, TCP/IP control(「WOL), RS232 serial port control, IR IN interface control
- Headphone Impedance
- 16-300⤶ (loe-gain mode: 16-32⤶/high-gain mode: 32-300⤶)
- XLR(balanced) Output
- Output Level(Vrms): 4.3 Vrms THD+N: -115dB(「0.000167%「1kHz) Noise: less than 2uVrms SNR: 127dB@1kHz frequency response: ±0.25dB(20Hz-20kHz) CROSSTALK: -130dB@1kHz DNR: 127dB@1kHz
- RCA(single-ended) Output
- Output Level(Vrms): 2.1 Vrms THD+N: -114dB(0.000185%「1kHz) Noise: less than 2uVrms SNR: 124dB@1kHz frequency response: ±0.25dB(20Hz-20kHz) CROSSTALK: -126dB@1kHz DNR: 125dB@1kHz
- Headphone 6.35mm Single-Ended Output(low-gain mode)
- Output Level(Vrms): 1.1 Vrms THD+N: -109dB(0.00035%「1kHz) Noise: less than 2uVrms SNR: 123dB@1kHz frequency response: ±0.25dB(20Hz-20kHz) CROSSTALK: -123dB@1kHz DNR: 123dB@1kHz Max Power: 76mW(16⤶)/38mW(32⤶)
- Headphone 6.35mm Single-Ended Output(high-gain mode)
- Output Level(Vrms): 3.4 Vrms THD+N: -111dB(0.00035%「1kHz) Noise: less than 2uVrms SNR: 124dB@1kHz frequency response: ±0.25dB(20Hz-20kHz) CROSSTALK: -123dB@1kHz DNR: 124dB@1kHz Max Power: 361mW(32⤶)/39mW(300⤶)
- Power Supply
- AC 110~240V 50/60Hz
- Dimensions
- 430mm(W)*300mm(D)*105mm(H)
- Packing List
- Remote control*1, Power cable*1, Hard drive fixing screws*4, Screwdriver*1, User Manual*1
Manufacturer's Description — Zidoo
Functional overview
XMOS 216+ESS9038Pro DAC hardware decoding,DSD512/PCM768KHz 32Bit and MQA.
Dual HDMI audio and video separation output, multi-channel DSD (2.0/5.1CH) playback and DSD Native output.
430 standard dimension, excellent texture with all-aluminum alloy reinforced chassis and shockproof foot pad.
5-inch OLED high-definition touch screen will display general settings, music playback status and touch control.
RTD1619DR SOC with 4K@60Hz, Dolby Vision/HDR10+.
4G DDR4 RAM and 32G eMMC storage；512G SSD for local media storage.
Internal 3.5”/2.5” HDD bay, up to 18T large capacity hard drive (hard drive isn't included).
Dual power supplies, linear power supply and digital power supply.
4K 60Hz, HDR (HDR10/HLG/HDR10+/Dolby Vision), 12Bit, BT.2020 wide color range and YCbCr 4:4:4.
Support DSD (SACD ISO, DSF, DFF), WAV, FLAC, APE lossless audio formats and multi-sampling seamless playback.
High-performance Bluetooth decoding with Qualcomm flagship QCC5125 module, support APTX HD, LDAC audio reception.
6.35 headphone jack, two gain modes switching, the internal headphone amp can drive 16-300 Ω high impedance headphone.
Multi-stage operation amplifier, fully balanced circuit design, XLR balanced and RCA output.
Support asynchronous USB DAC input, monitor-level sound card performance, compatible with Windows, MAC, IOS, Android.
XMOS XU216, MQA full decoding and dual femtosecond active crystal oscillator.
Rigorous circuit design, manufacturing process and selected components.
Based on Linux video decoding and output framework to output image quality with high reproduction.
Support almost all Dolby vision formats and complete processing for stunning image quality.
VS10 engine supports content mapping and colors similar with Dolby vision, the image quality is greatly improved.
Poster wall management system supports automatic intelligent scanning, custom classification and movie info management.
Gigabit wired network and 2.4G+5G dual-band 802.11 AC 2T2R 867Mbps WiFi.
CD-ROM playback and CD Ripping are supported. It can connect with BD (non-encrypted)/CD discs.
New Music Player supports personalized configuration, lyrics matching and track data matching.
support multiple ways of music streaming, such as DLNA,TIDAL Connect，etc
Support music streaming service TIDAL,Qobuz and HIGHRESAUDIO(By mobile control APP)
Support Optical and Coaxial audio input and USB Audio Native, Optical, HDMI digital audio bit-perfect output.
Support multiple network protocols such as NFS, SMB v1/v2/v3,
UPnP and Web DAV.
SMB sharing allow to transmit local media files
stored in Zidoo hard drive to other devices.
Verified Dealers
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Authorized dealers for Zidoo 4K Hi-End Media player NEO α
- A1 Futureshop — online and in-store — North Rocks, New South Wales, Australia (website)
- Acoustic Technologies — online and in-store — Montréal, Québec, Canada (website)
- Alex Audio Video — in-store — Sofia, Sofia City Province, Bulgaria (website)
- Altitudo Audio — online and in-store — Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (website)
- Audio Centrum — Hungary (website)
- Audio Excellence (CA) — online and in-store — Markham, Ontario, Canada (website)
- Audio Magic - EU — online and in-store — Wola, Województwo mazowieckie, Poland (website)
- Audio Solutions — online and in-store — Indianapolis, Indiana, United States (website)
- Audio Tempel — online and in-store — Zwolle, Overijssel, Netherlands (website)
- AUDIOAXE — in-store — Courbevoie, Île-de-France, France (website)
and 24 more verified dealers